The invention relates to methods and apparatus for communicating with downhole devices in a wellbore.
Oil and gas wells may be completed with a variety of downhole devices to produce hydrocarbons from, or inject fluids into, formations beneath the earth""s surface. Completion equipment have been developed for many types of wells, including vertical or near-vertical, horizontal, highly deviated, and multilateral wells. Typical completion equipment include valves, tubing, packers, and other downhole devices for fluid flow control, as well as electrical devices such as sensors and control devices to monitor downhole conditions and/or to control actuation of completion devices (e.g., opening or shutting valves, setting packers, and so forth).
More recently, to provide for data acquisition and control of wells, intelligent completion systems (ICS) have been proposed or developed to enable a well surface operator to monitor and control the production of hydrocarbons from multiple zones in a single wellbore or from individual lateral wellbores in a multilateral well. An ICS is used to reduce the number of interventions needed during the life of the well since downhole conditions can be monitored and production can be controlled remotely. Typically, an ICS includes surface (or remote) control equipment and downhole modules that are in communication with the surface (or remote) control equipment. The ICS downhole modules may include sensors for measuring tubing and annulus pressure, temperature, and flow rates as well as control devices to actuate valves and other downhole devices.
In some ICS completion systems, a single electrical cable is run from the surface to connect to the downhole modules (sometimes referred to as an I-wire connection). Thus, control signals, as well as power, can be sent from the surface down the electrical cable to the downhole modules, and measurement data obtained by the downhole modules can be communicated up to surface through the same cable. However, there may be locations in a well that are difficult to access by an I-wire connection. One example is a sand face completion, in which screens or gravel packs are typically run in segments. As a result, wet connections may have to be made between the segments, which may be impractical and unreliable. Thus, a need arises for more practical and reliable techniques of deploying electrical devices in remote locations in a well, such as a sand face completion in a well.
In general, according to one embodiment, an apparatus for use in a wellbore comprises an adapter capable of being attached to a carrier line to enable the apparatus to be run into the wellbore. The apparatus further includes an inductive coupler portion, a device for performing a task in the wellbore, and an electrical link between the inductive coupler portion and the device.
In general, according to another embodiment, a system for use in a wellbore comprises a communications module, a remote module in the wellbore, and equipment having a plurality of sections installed separately in the bore. The remote module is positioned past at least one of the sections. An inductive coupler link is between the remote module and the communications module.
Other features and embodiments will become apparent from the following description, from the drawings, and from the claims.